Tunisian unions urge government to honour wage agreement

The Tunisian government has been stalling on issuing the annexes of an agreement reached with social stakeholders in the textile and clothing sector, in November 2021 for reasons that are unclear. The annexes are key and needed by business owners to raise wages. 

Habib Hazami, the Secretary General of FGTHCC-UGTT, delivered an address during the demonstration stating that the government is halting the issuance of the amendment annexes, although it was not party to the negotiations, but rather a sponsor which makes the agreement official through an article in the Official Gazette. He emphasized that, should the stalling continue, the FGTHCC-UGTT plans to initiate a general sectoral strike, holding the government accountable for the rising tensions.

Several union leaders participated in the demonstration. The UGTT chose a demonstration with the participation of union leaders only as a first step, in order to spare the sector any disruption to production.   

Following the demonstration, FGTHCC-UGTT delegation met with Mr. Malek Alzahi, Minister of Social Affairs, who confirmed his understanding of the sectoral demands, and committed to issue the annexes of the agreement on Friday.

This comes just one week after workers in Tunisia’s public sector had a general strike, after negotiations with the government to protect workers from the rising cost of living in the country failed. While this meeting was positive, the FGTHCC-UGTT is ready to take further actions if the government fails to act on Friday.

First youth meeting in South Asia

Young activists engaged in a lively debate about how the IndustriALL action plan could be viewed in the context of South Asia. Issues like confronting global capital, Industry 4.0, and sustainable industrial policy were discussed.
 
Country reports reaffirmed that workers’ rights’ issues transcend national borders. Workers in the region are grappling with a rise in precarious work, unsafe working conditions, forced overtime, denial of social security including maternity or paternity benefits, gender pay gay, sexual harassment at workplace, and union busting.

 

Post Covid, workers’ situation has drastically changed with higher production targets and increased harassment on the shopfloor. Young unionists extended solidarity to workers in Sri Lanka facing an unprecedented economic and political crisis.
 
Reflecting on the region's trade union movement, participants agreed that union structures are traditionally male-dominated and that more work is needed to promote greater engagement of young people and women, both as members and as leaders. With participants forming a regional working group to further the conversation on youth participation, the meeting set the ball rolling.
 
Young activists unanimously decided to focus on three demands in IndustriALL’s youth resolution, including

Sarah Flores, IndustriALL youth officer, said:

“The meeting was a crucial step towards establishing recognized and institutional youth structures, not just within IndustriALL, but hopefully also in the regional trade union movements.”

Apoorva Kaiwar, South Asia regional secretary, said:

“Our young leaders will take the union movement forward and make trade unions work for young workers.”

South Asia: increased space for women in unions is needed

Women leaders had an engaging discussion on IndustriALL's resolution calling for an end to inequalities, sexism, misogyny and gender-based violence. Leaders reflected on how discrimination against women occurs not only on the shop floor, but also within unions. Participants shared that women are disproportionately underrepresented in unions; even when they are present, they typically serve as members, rather than in leadership roles.

Sectors like steel and mining, with a largely male workforce, see few women union members, let alone women leadership level. The low percentage of women in the workforce will only get worse with the growing digitalization and automation. Some participants suggested an employment quota for women.

The country reports highlighted that women workers throughout the region experience similar problems, like sexual harassment in the workplace, denial of maternity related benefits including day care facility at workplace, neglect of women-specific health and safety concerns and a gender pay gap.

 

Nazma Akter, president of IndustriALL Bangladeshi affiliate, Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation (SGSF), said:

“Gender-specific concerns must be discussed at all levels and in all contexts. We must make sure that not only do women unionists become active members of collective bargaining committees, but also that these agreements incorporate gender-specific demands, including those of transgender people in the workforce.”

The gender pay gap and its implications was discussed. Several women leaders decided to raise the issue in their respective countries and link it to the debate on national living wage.

Sanjyot Vadhavkar, co-chair of IndustriALL’s base metals sector and secretary of the Steel, Metal and Engineering Workers’ Federation of India (SMEFI), said:

“The gener pay gap needs to be addressed by unions in their charter of demands, and more women must be represented in the decision-making bodies of the unions.”

The women leaders pledged to address women-specific issues in the unions, including the priorities decided by IndustriALL’s women’s committee:

Apoorva Kaiwar, IndustriALL South Asia regional secretary, said:

“Women’s space in unions, even in male dominated sectors, needs to be recognized by union leadership. Women should be involved in all aspects of trade union work, including strategies, actions and the way forward.”

Green aviation: trade unions demand strong international commitment with social sustainability and a Just Transition

This week, international and European trade unions representing workers in the aerospace and aviation sectors met to discuss a united position ahead of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly in September, at which it is hoped that the future pathway towards sustainable aviation will be agreed by international governments and key industry stakeholders.

At such a critical time, where the aviation industry faces the urgent challenge of responding the continued fallout from the Covid crisis, unions have identified the need for a coordinated industry-wide response from airlines, airports, governments, and unions to rectify capacity shortages, flight delays and beleaguered service levels that have plagued the industry for months.

Workers’ participation is critical, not just in fixing the underlying issues that are currently crippling the industry, but crucially in the addressing the long-term sustainability and decarbonisation of the industry. Workers’ participation will be essential in the social management of such a major industrial change. Climate justice cannot exist without labor justice with decent work being created through freedom of association and collective bargaining.

The meeting organized by IndustriALL Global Trade Union, International Transport Workers’ Federation, and their European counterparts industriAll European Trade Union and the European Transport Workers’ Federation follow successful collaboration on the Toulouse Declaration on the future sustainability and decarbonisation of aviation.

The aerospace and aviation sectors are intrinsically linked. Global trade union federations are particularly important in these processes playing a key role linking common needs and are essential in turning them into an international vision and strategy. Trade unions from both sectors see significant opportunities offered by a combined and cross-sectoral approach, based on a supply chain-wide vision and an international industrial strategy that is built on foundations of sustainability and decent work.

10 years of global campaigning

IndustriALL Global Union represents 50 million workers in 140 countries in the mining, energy and manufacturing sectors and is a force in global solidarity taking up the fight for better working conditions and trade union rights around the world.

5 reasons to join a union

Another world is possible and necessary. To achieve it, we need global union solidarity and cooperation for peace, democracy and rights. Our mission is to secure social justice, equality and equity, with a decent standard of living for all.

Action plan of IndustriALL

IndustriALL challenges the power of multinational companies and negotiates with them on a global level. IndustriALL fights for another model of globalization and a new economic and social model that puts people first, based on democracy and social justice.

Together with affiliates and other stakeholders, IndustriALL campaigns for better working conditions.

SPECIAL REPORT

Changing the balance of power in the textile and garment industry

16 days of action

Women in our industries and unions have the right to an environment free from gender-based violence

When our 600 unions in mining, base metals, shipbuilding and shipbreaking, automotive, aerospace, mechanical engineering, ICT, electrical and electronics, chemicals, rubber, pulp and paper, textiles, garments, leather and footwear take action it resonates on a global scale.

INDIA

Over 250 million workers join national strike in India

PERU

Unique-Yanbal Peru dismisses 600 workers during the pandemic

FINLAND

Finnish paper strike solid as UPM refuses to negotiate

PAKISTAN

New minimum wage in Pakistan is a union win

ZIMBABWE

Young trade unionist’s deportation ordeal in Zimbabwe

FEATURE

Union busting, IndustriALL affiliates under attack

App promotes migrant workers’ rights in Mauritius

The Just Good Work Mauritius app is supported by IndustriALL affiliate, CTSP, Bangladeshi migrant workers support organization OKUP, Anti-Slavery International, and ASOS.

The app, which is available in Bangla, English, and Malagasy languages has made it possible for CTSP to organize migrant workers at the Compagnie Mauricienne de Textile (CMT) – a garments and jersey manufacturing factory – which is one of the largest textile companies on the island, with offices in the UK and France.

On 30 May, CTSP had a meeting with 30 migrant workers to explain how to use the app to exercise their rights at work. For the first time the union was granted access to the factory workers.

“We finally got access to CMT – a company that has never allowed trade unions to represent its workers. This is a major step. Workers were exposed to the content of the app and how they can get relevant information on working conditions, wages, and safety issues. Most importantly the app allows workers to send specific queries to the Migrant Resource Centre and other organizations,”

says Jane Ragoo, CTSP general secretary.

Over 35,000 workers, or 17 per cent of the workforce, in Mauritius are migrant workers. The workers are employed in manufacturing sectors that include the garment and textile industries as well as in information, communications, and technology (ICT).

Christina Hajagos-Clausen, IndustriALL director for the textile and garment industries says:

“Digital platforms like the JGW Mauritius are becoming important tools in union organizing and campaigns for workers’ rights and living wages for migrant workers. We applaud the CTSP for adopting the opportunities provided by digital technologies to improve the working conditions of migrant workers.

"It is commendable that CMT has opened its doors for the first time to CTSP and this shows that the global framework agreement with ASOS is improving working conditions for migrant workers.”

A report made to the International Labour Conference recommends that the government of Mauritius must respect migrant workers’ rights, especially International Labour Organization Convention 87 on freedom of association and protection of the right to organize.

“Regretting that the work permit requirement provided for under the Employment Rights Act (2008) was not repealed by Act No. 21, the Committee reiterates its request to the Government to take all measures in the near future to ensure the recognition of the right to all migrant workers to establish and join organizations of their own choosing. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any developments in this respect,”

reads the Report of the Committee of Experts on Application of Convention and Recommendations.

Although, the Employment Rights Act was amended in 2019 the clause on the work permit which violates migrant workers’ rights remain in the law. The clause says that you cannot join a trade union if you do not have a work permit.

Apple workers join US union

With the assistance of IAM, the Apple employees have formed a union, the Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (CORE). The store in Towson, Maryland, will be the first unionized Apple store in the country.
 
“To be clear, the decision to form a union is about us as workers gaining access to rights that we do not currently have,” Towson organizers wrote in a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
 
The workers want Apple to follow the neutrality requirement from its Supplier Code of Conduct under the section “Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining”, so that they can enjoy their rights to information and collective bargaining.

IAM president Robert Martinez says:

“I applaud the courage displayed by Core members at the Apple store in Towson for achieving this historic victory. They made a huge sacrifice for thousands of Apple employees across the nation who had all eyes on this election. This victory shows the growing demand for unions at Apple stores and different industries across our nation.”

Christine Olivier, IndustriALL assistant general sectary, says:

“We extend our wholehearted congratulations on this important victory. It is a crucial step in achieving decent working conditions and respect for the workers creating the wealth of this major tech company. We hope workers of other Apple stores in the US will follow this path."

 

Unionizing in response to dramatic changes in ICT, electrical and electronics

In their respective opening statements, sector chairs Masashi Jimbo, president of Japanese Electrical Electronics & Information Union, JEIU, and Prihanani Boenadi from Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers' Union (FSPMI), both noted how dramatically the industry has changed of over the past year.

Energy and raw material prices are soaring due to the decoupling of the US and China and the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and countries are reviewing their supply chains. While there are positive aspects, such as increased investment in semiconductors and batteries, the pandemic and further developments have brought challenges, like increased outsourcing, psychosocial pressure at work contributing to the increasing uncertainty of workers.

IndustriALL affiliate Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions plans to establish human rights due diligence guidelines for trade unions by the end of this year. In addition, since this year's spring offensive, Japanese unions have been taking steps to address human rights due diligence in both industrial and company level collective bargaining.

Key for the unions of the sector is to organize and protect the workers, improve their welfare in the supply chains. Women make up the majority of the workers in the sector, and their participation in unions must be promoted. Forty per cent of the delegates of the meeting were women.

After IndustriALL gender director Armelle Seby presented conclusions from IndustriALL’s women’s committee meeting in May and the gender pay gap, participants discussed how to raise visibility of women in the sector and recommendations for preventing and addressing gender based violence and harassment.

Achieving that includes, among other things, creating safe spaces where women can talk about and make complaints about sexual harassment; strengthening complaints mechanisms; increasing visibility on domestic violence also being a workplace issue; training and awareness raising on GBVH; integrating GBVH in existing occupational health and safety policies; and more women in leadership in unions and as negotiators for collective agreements.

Alexander Ivanou, IndustriALL ICT electrical and electronics director, said:

“The market for ICT, electrical and electronics is projected to grow, defence industry electronics is currently in high demand and the demand for semi-conductors has exploded.

"Coupled with a shortage of raw materials, supply chain issues and a talent shortage, the continued acceleration of the digital transformation presents challenges to the workers and their unions. We must help our affiliates and double our efforts on organizing as many workers as possible both in the industry and the supply chain.”

Participants agreed on an action plan. The unions representing workers in semiconductors sub-sector agreed to create a special union network. A similar strategy will also be pursued in the sub-sector of electronics manufacturing service (EMS) companies.

The gender perspecitve remains an important part of the work in the sector; a special focus will be put on education and tools enabling trade unions to adopt gender responsive approach to occupational health and safety.

IndustriALL and affiliates will use the increasing opportunities for promotion of worker and union rights in the sector through the series of legislative acts on human rights and due diligence being adopted in Europe and outside.

Good jobs and a Just Transition into wind technology

Workers want good jobs and just transition in the energy sector. This workshop looked at offshore and onshore wind technology, which employers and government see as a potential pathway for oil and gas companies to diversify their assets and bring down emissions. The information is not always easy to get but unions want to see how many jobs there are, when they will come, what kind of jobs they will be, what kinds of skills workers will need for these jobs, and the transition that workers will be faced with.

To get a better view of what the future holds, participants looked at the value chains of oil and gas, and onshore and offshore wind, breaking both value chains down to production, processing, distribution, and end-use (upstream, midstream, downstream). 

According to Michael Brenner from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the wind sector employs approximately 1.3 million workers globally and ranks amongst the top five renewable technologies in terms of workforce.

“Gender balance is quite poor in the sector, mainly due to access to education, hiring practices, discriminatory workplace policies and a lack of flexibility,”

Brenner said.

“This is an indication that unions have work on public policy when it comes to gender equality and bringing youth into these emerging sectors.”

Brenner explained that new installations drive jobs in the wind sector, as they in turn drive jobs in construction, manufacturing, and project design. But long-term employment is determined by the installations that are in place and that create the jobs in operations and maintenance. Since wind technology is not that new and many installations are reaching the end of their life, there are also potential jobs in dismantling and recycling of old wind turbines.

Restrictive spatial planning and other polices make wind technology difficult to bring into some countries. The lengthy process for securing permits for new wind farms has a major influence on the technology developing further and in many countries there is a need for strategic industrial policy. 

In the UK, the focus has been on lowering costs, in particular labour costs. Component production is outsourced and some of the offshore vessel crews use cheap labour from abroad. Capital expenditures are what drive jobs in the supply chain and construction. A recent study showed that only 29% of capital expenditures on UK offshore wind projects are spent within the UK. If you include development cost and maintenance and operations, that rises to 48%.

In comparison, Denmark, a much smaller country, has a much more complete domestic supply chain and is home to major turbine manufacturers like Vestas. Danish companies have an estimated 40 per cent of the European offshore market, primarily in operations and maintenance, but also installations.  The number of jobs that Danish companies can create in and outside of Denmark is significant. 

Ole Philipsen from Dansk Metal presented the Danish model; a highly unionized workforce that have managed to secure quality jobs in the wind sector, demonstrating that unions are crucial in ensuring that workers get quality jobs in the is transition.

The industry’s equipment manufacturing footprint is a big factor affecting where jobs are created. It determines a country’s abilities to establish a strong local domestic supply chain and the ability to implement and to upgrade and update power grids to feed wind electricity into the grid.

In Norway, eleven offshore floating wind installations will be developed with employers, governments, and unions. These will be the first floating wind facilities powering offshore oil and gas installations. As oil and gas production emissions represent a quarter of Norway’s CO2 emissions, it was important for Norway to electrify these platforms. 

“Unions have set clear targets for the development of the sector: Norwegian working conditions, safe working conditions and preparedness and security,”

said Ane-Beth Skrede from LO-Norway.

Manuel Riera from UGT In Spain, reported that the UGT and CCOO have put together a manifesto, in view of the potential for wind technology in the country. They have involved companies in the sector, ports and shipyards in the value chain, universities, and research institutions. The manifesto is an attempt to be ready in view of the emerging wind technology, unions want to be prepared and make sure that workers and communities will be part of the discussion. 

Lebogang Mulaisi from COSATU reported that South Africa relies heavily on oil, gas, and coal for energy, but there is a rush for clean energy. There is potential to develop wind powered energy and to organize workers in this new sector. 

“Wind technology is piloted in South Africa and studies show conflicting results. But there is hope that this technology will create many jobs, especially if there is local manufacturing. Our demand is to have public and worker ownership, including through worker cooperatives,”

Mulaisi concluded.

The country reports gave a snapshot of how the technologies are developing in each country and to what extent unions can be a part of the transition. While regional challenges are different, participants drew from the examples to better prepare for the future.

Two more workshops on energy transition technologies will follow later this year: 

Hydrogen workshop meeting report here: Good jobs and just transition into hydrogen

Union win for Turkish workers

In 2017, IndustriALL affiliate Birleşik Metal-İş attempted to organize the 420 workers at the Posco Assan steel plant in Kocaeli, Turkey, after they expressed deep dissatisfaction with wages and working conditions. When management heard about the organizing effort, they organized individual meetings with workers to intimidate them into leaving the union. Those who refused to resign from the union were fired.
 
In 2017, the company also changed registration of their office to a metal factory to prevent Birleşik Metal-İş to gain the required majority at the factory. Turkish trade union law requires a union to have at least 50 per cent +1 membership of the overall workforce in the company to be the legal representative.
 
After five years, Turkey’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, ruled earlier this month that the union did in fact have majority in the workplace and that Posco has to recognize the union as a collective bargaining partner.
 
The court had previously ruled that as the dismissals in 2017 were for joining a union, they were nul and void and that the 80 workers should be reinstated. Posco was ordered to pay a total of 16 months of salary, in addition to the severance pay.
 
However, Posco refused to reinstate the workers and instead had to pay extra compensation.
 
Birleşik Metal-İş has reached out to shareholders of POSCO Steel since 2017, and the Nordea Bank in Sweden decided to disinvest from POSCO and add POSCO to their exclusion list over“violation of established norms.”

Says IndustriALL assistant general secretaty Kemal Özkan:

“This case clearly shows how restricted the fundamental right of freedom of association is for Turkish workers. It is unacceptable to have to wait five years to get union recognition and at the expense of workers’ jobs and livelihoods. POSCO and its partner exploited the legislative process to prevent workers from the protection of a collective bargaining agreement.

“IndustriALL is urging POSCO to respect the final court verdict and engage with Birleşik Metal-İş for a collective bargaining process in good faith.”

Posco is the world’s fifth largest steel company. There is no union representation in the home country of Korea because of the company’s anti-union stance.